The UK Will Bin 8 Million Pumpkins This Halloween, According To Research
Many people don't realise that carving pumpkins are also edible
Halloween may market itself as the scariest time of year, but there's something a lot more sinister than all the fake blood and trick-or-treating kids high on sugar.
According to research commissioned by stock brand Knorr, the UK will bin eight million pumpkins after Halloween. Now that's a lot of pumpkins.
Perhaps even more chillingly, this would also be enough to feed the whole nation.
Another study, which comes from environmental waste charity Hubbub, also found that over half of the UK's Halloween pumpkin buyers would happily welcome recipes that would help turn meals out of the leftovers.
So what can you actually do with your Halloween pumpkin, once you've carved out a picture and posted a snap of your artistry on Instagram? Can you really eat it, or the slightly disgusting entrails you're about the throw in the bin?
According to Hubbub, you can chow down on any variety of pumpkin, gourd or squash, and many are a great source of vitamins A and C, iron and riboflavin.
Even the ones that are labelled as 'carving pumpkins' are edible. They've just usually been bred to be large, thin-fleshed and robust, which means that sometimes they can be a little tasteless - but that only means you have to show it some love with some salt, herbs and spices.
"Don't let the sticker lead you astray, these pumpkins are perfectly edible," the Hubbub website explains.
"Carving pumpkins tend to be more watery and fibrous than other types of squash and gourd. We'd recommend popping your carvings from a 'carving pumpkin' in a soup with a flavoursome stock cube or adding them to bulk up a stew."
While you can technically eat all of a pumpkin apart from the stalk, you'll need to look at what variety you've got - some of the larger varieties, for example, will have slightly tougher skin that might not be that tasty, whereas the more delicate skin of smaller ones like onion squashes can be delicious.
Sharing some suggestions on what to do with pumpkins, one person wrote on the Hubbub website: "I've just eaten a gorgeous Bengali pumpkin curry today. We also use carving pumpkins for other dishes - they make a lovely risotto, excellent soup, and we use them is quite a few other dishes.
"Pumpkin pie is even achievable, though I look for the darker pumpkins (which are being sold for carving as well) to make a really good one."
Another added: "I cook with my carving pumpkin every year - usually a soup."
Remember, kids: a pumpkin is for dinner, not just Halloween!
Featured Image Credit: PA
Jess Hardiman